dadioles

Keep life simple. Just ask for .17HMR for rabbit control and ask for the AOLQ condition (which tends to be normal now anyway). That keeps the police happy and covers you for what you need. Frankly, I would not even raise the subject of foxes - why complicate things. At some time in the future, if you have the inclination and the bank balance and have seen enough foxes to warrant it, buy a second rifle suitable for foxes and possibly deer. If you want quiet shooting and can accept a shorter range, consider .22lr. Personally though, in your circumstances, I would start with .17hmr.

Why?? The Chrony works "out of the box". Don't make life more complicated than it already is.

I use a nice bit of software called "On Target Precision Calculator" written by a really nice chap called Jeffrey Block in USA. There is a freeware version as well as a paid for version (only £10). If you have reasonable ability with a computer and enjoy playing with software you will love this. Input is from a camera or (better) a scanner. It is very accurate.

My advice is to re-claim the wood from the pallets, just knock out the nails which can be straightened for use again later. Add a few fence posts and a bit of straw and you can knock up something quite comfortable.

It works by the shadow of the bullet or pellet passing over the light sensitive sensors. Pretty obvious I would have thought! The diffuser screens need to be in place for best reliability. A brightly overcast day also helps. I fit mine to a photographic tripod so it is easy to adjust for height and position then bench shoot through it with the rifle on a bipod. Typically my Chrony will be about 18 inches in front of the muzzle with the bullet passing centrally about 2 inches above the sensors. It works with air rifle pellets just as well as rimfire and centrefire and even paint balls.

Stop worrying about accuracy, assuming you are not heading for the Olympics. Pretty much any rifle that you purchase in .22lr or hmr will have the potential to me more accurate than your ability. They do, however, vary in quality of manufacture. My Anschutz is better built than my CZ. But it is of little consequence in terms of practical shooting. You do need to think about barrel length, short is more convenient and no less accurate. Is the bolt smooth? Trigger pull? (trigger kit for CZ is cheap simple and good) What about scope choice and fitting? Moderator? Balance? Bipod / Sling mounts? Weight is a consideration and most significantly how the gun feels to you, is it comfortable? and there is also that subtle thing called 'ego' or 'pride' in how the gun looks. Particularly if new, be really anal about cleaning, rod and patches, maintain that perfect barrel. Find which ammunition suits it best (particularly if .22lr). They will all perform well, look around, make your choice and enjoy shooting.

Slightly off topic but never accept a police caution on the assumption that it is just a telling off with no future consequences. By accepting it you are admitting guilt and it does go on your record in the same way as a conviction. The consequences can be far more serious than you might imagine.

Yes, I forgot to mention that getting one that works at reasonably close distances is important. Knowing that something is 800 yards away is just novelty value for most of us. The drop from 20 yards to 30 yards may be significant.

To evaluate the moderator on your HMR, just fire it into some soft earth or sand a couple of feet in front of the barrel. The supersonic pressure wave will not develop and you will be surprised how quiet it is. Eye protection is a good idea! Some countries (or states) do not allow the use of a moderator. They certainly need ear protection!

That first really thorough clean is quite significant. It will have been test shot at the factory but the amount of gunk in there could be considerable. The bolt may take a fair bit of wearing in until it is really smooth, just keep working it. When I clean my guns (always rod and patch - and not just a quick pull through either) I put a drop of oil on the final patch if they are to be stored for more than a few days. If they are going to be used sooner, I put some meths on the next to last patch to remove any traces of oil and leave the barrel dry, finally a plain dry patch. That way I find only one shot is needed before full accuracy returns. Even that first shot is generally pretty close.

I assume you are talking about the normal laser type range finders, often based on "golf" equipment. I have two, a Nikon and a Bushnel. They all work at night, the problem is reading the display which is not backlit. Keeping the button pressed to 'lock' the reading and then pointing to a bright night sky or whatever works quite well. I use the Nikon mostly and at night every week. Would not be without it. I have had mine for a few years and at the time nothing was available with a backlight. If you find one that is any good, please post your conclusion here. There may be several models now.

This has been dealt with before.. and before... and yes, it is a bit silly. There are two main issues. When justifying to the police the "good reason" for requiring a rifle, most forces will not accept that shooting foxes is an acceptable "good reason" for granting a .22 rimfire. What is acceptable, for initial grant is, for example, rabbit control. When you actually own a .22 rimfire, the law allows you to shoot (ALQ) Any Lawful Quarry. Shooting foxes with .22 rimfire is entirely lawful - but as with everything firearms, subject to your certificate conditions, and that is where the Chief Constables powers come to bear - it is a local decision and that decision carries the weight of the law. Foxes have not been defined in law as vermin and there has never been a test case. The new 2015 Home Office Guidelines do, however, help us by declaring that: ......The term “vermin” is not defined in law, but it may include species that cause damage to crops, game, livestock or property such as fox, rabbit, mink, stoat, weasel, brown rat, and grey squirrel; as well as some birds, such as wood pigeon and corvids such as rook and crow. ...... All subject to the Wildlife and Countryside Act of course. If your rifle is conditioned ALQ then there is no problem and no grey area. If it simply says 'vermin' then it is still open to interpretation in law so get it changed to ALQ. If you have, say, a .223 which specifically says fox on your certificate while your .22lr says vermin, that may suggest that your police force sees fox and vermin as different things. It is down to the interpretation of the law by the Chief Constable and until tested in court it remains a grey area, no matter what the Home Office Guidance may say. Guidance is not law. The 2015 Home Office Guidance also states: ".22 Rimfires are generally considered as having insufficient muzzle energy to be used against foxes in most circumstances. However, these could be suitable for use at short range by experienced persons, and may be permitted in certain situations such as around farm buildings or paddocks. It is for the operator to ensure that the quarry species are shot at the appropriate range with the appropriate ammunition to achieve a humane kill." So make life easy for yourselves. Always get the landowners permission in writing and make sure that your firearms certificate states any lawful quarry for every rifle that you own. If you want a .22 rimfire for fox you probably will not get it if that is your "good reason". If you have a .22 rimfire and want to use it appropriately as a short range weapon against fox then make sure that your certificate is appropriately worded, just cover your back. Rightly or wrongly, it is at the discretion of your Chief Constable. The law is not clear and guidlines are not law. If you are prosecuted and become the test case and win the decision that foxes are vermin it will have taken a year or more out of your life, the confiscation of your guns for that period, and possibly many thousands of pounds with no legal aid and only the vague hope that costs would be awarded in your favour. RSPCA and Animal Liberationists have deep pockets and illogical thought processes. It might be them that bring an unreasonable and malicious publicity seeking case against you, not the police who want a quiet life!

Get the biggest you can manage. The tend to be described in shotgun terms "5 guns" but when you fit in a couple of rifles with scopes or night vision attached it all gets very squashed and things can easily get bashed about a bit. The depth (front to back) also matters a lot when a scope is attached. I bought a 5 gun cabinet, it was only really suitable for a couple of rifles, then bought a 10 gun cabinet which sits alongside it. One big gun safe is a lot more spacious than a couple of smaller gun safes as hinges and door opening all eat into the useful area.

As Chris said in his original post which started this thread: "It just goes to show how you should always check your gun for the best pellet and not just assume that one pellet is good for all!" "Asking what pellet is best for your gun is not a question anyone else can answer!" A better title for the thread would have been: "Air Arms Diabolo Field do not suit my rifle" There is no substitute for obtaining a number of different pellets and spending time shooting paper to find which best suits your gun. At 35 yards I would expect every shot to easily fit in the area covered by a 1p coin or something is not quite right.

In practical terms it is best to have an open licence with the AOLQ condition. My force, Cambridgeshire, seem more sensible than many (thanks). The law (or should I say the interpretation by police forces) over fox, vermin and shooting with .22 rimfire is too messy and no-one want to be a test case. .22 rimfire is excellent for close range fox, especially where discretion is required (gardens).

And your problem is?........ Maybe disposing of the carcases is a bit contentious, best out of sight and away from pet dogs and their owners, but apart from that it sounds as though he is doing everyone a good service.

My licence came up for renewal a couple of months ago and several weeks before it expired the FEO paid me a visit (they always visit on renewal in Cambridgeshire) and it was not until he had left that I realised he had taken my still valid certificate away with him. It was three weeks before the new one arrived and that meant that I could not purchase ammunition in the meantime. No problem as I had sufficient stock but it did leave me in a potentially difficult situation. Apparently this is normal in Cambridgeshire.

no.

The police love a smart ****.... I know what you mean though, one day, just maybe, some of the stupidity about firearms legislation may get sorted... then again.... oops, have just woken up.....

Eating the muscle tissue from either TB or Foot and Mouth infected animals will not cause a problem when cooked and consumed by humans. A good venison steak from either animal is quite harmless assuming no other significant health issues. No. I would not eat meat from an animal where its health was in doubt despite knowing those facts. In the case of TB, there is plenty of TB infected meat entering the human food chain. Where there is money to be made........ Redgum said: "also there are not many that could observe the health of the living deer in the split second it launches from the verge into you grill." I had this image of a considerate deer launching itself onto my bbq grill - then realised he meant the front of his car....

It is not quite so simple as to say that adrenalin taints meat. In fact adrenaline does not have any taste. It does , however, trigger a number of chemical responses in the body. When an animal is frightened or stressed several hormones are released, one is adrenaline and a couple of others are epinephrine and norepinephrine but it is not those hormones themselves that taint meat, it is the effect on glycogen levels in the muscles and consequently the build up of lactic acid and the pH of the meat. If road kill deer is known to have been quickly and very recently killed and it looks like a reasonably healthy animal, there is no reason not to consider eating it. Badly bruised meat is not, in my view, particularly palatable but depending on how the animal was struck, the damage could be minimal. Judge each case on its merits.

There are 'dust off' type that just blow 'air' (not actually air but close enough). There are 'switch cleaner' types that use a solvent but do not leave a residue. There are 'switch cleaner' types that use a solvent and leave a thin oily protective film. I cannot see that any of them would do harm to your gun. Just wipe it and properly oil / grease it afterwards. It is an expensive way to not achieve very much though. The solvent evaporates too quickly to be really useful on lumps of metalwork.

Be careful. The law only allows for 12ft lbs maximum and that is with any pellet. Not the pellet of your choice. If the police ever have cause to inspect your rifle, it will be chronographed with a variety of pellets, not just your favourite pellet.

Hi Dekers It sounds as though your owner would be wise to zero at about 50 yards even though that is technically the 'near' zero. I reckon he would be nearly bullet on bullet from about 40 to 90 yards. I have a client like yours as well. He sits in his sun lounge and the range to the centre of his tennis court is exactly 60 yards. Everything he shoots is between 45 and 75 yards. At least he uses .22lr as hmr scares the peacocks! I was with him a couple of days ago and the dry weather has baked the tennis court rock hard. At 70 yards it was like skimming pebbles off a pond. I am not sure he could actually focus his 80 year old eyes on much but he was happy trying! With a wall and 1000 acres as a back stop good luck.

When choosing a distance to zero my hmr I decided that I wanted the flatest shooting that would put all my bullets into a 1" circle without any holdover or holdunder over the widest possible range of distances. Another way of putting that is to say that I wanted a 1" kill zone (just right for head shooting rabbits). That allows for a bit of error. For my rifle / ammo combination that requires zeroing at 110 yards. I know that I can point and shoot without any holdover or holdunder from about 32 yards to 125 yards which covers most of my shooting. At 150 yards it is a 2" drop which is easy to remember. I do not shoot further than that. I do find a laser very useful with the hmr but mainly to stop myself underestimating just how far away some rabbits really are. I use it on a tree or hedge, not the rabbit and then guess how far the rabbit is from that object. Wide open expanses like golf courses can be hard to estimate distance, especially in poor light. At 100 yards in a steady (10mph) crosswind, allow a good couple of inches for wind drift. If possible I will wait for the rabbit to 'turn into wind' so that if I have underestimated the wind, a headshot turns into a neck or body shot. All devastating with the hmr. There is a logic behind the suggestion that if most of your shooting is at 75 yards, you should zero at 75 yards (or whatever...), but I do not agree with that in the case of an hmr. It may be sensible for air rifles or the .22lr with their loopy trajectories, but the hmr has a completely different characteristic and is remarkably flat shooting over the distances that most of us would use it for rabbits (30 to 150 yards). It makes more sense to choose a zero that maximises the flat shooting potential over the greatest practical distance.